Fashionably Late
by Alfsigr
Summary: ON-HOLD. What does Zero mean when he tells the Black Knights not to disturb him? Probably that everyone should feel free to enter his room without permission, right? Yaoi warning, non-graphic. Suzaku/Lelouch or Lelouch/Suzaku depending on your preference.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything at all, as I have no job.

A/N: Well, this was originally meant to be a birthday present for Neo-Diji (great author, check out her stories too), but it's more than three months late, so happy very belated birthday Neo-Diji!  
This chapter is very short, but I already have the next chapter written and it should be up relatively soon. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Warnings: Yaoi, of course

* * *

Kallen Kozuki was a strong, able woman. She could handle anything life threw at her. The Ace of Zero, Q-1, the pilot of the Guren Mk II, she didn't get frightened easily. And as one of the few people in the world who knew of Zero's true identity, she was granted more trust within then Black Knights than almost anyone else.

That's why it was her chosen for this very important task. She had to go get Zero at a time when he had very specifically asked not to be disturbed.

It had happened a few times already that Zero would seclude himself in his bedroom for a few hours warning everyone to stay away. Of course, nobody actually stayed away. They would sit outside of Zero's door waiting for something to happen. The majority of the Black Knights had at first assumed that Zero and his mistress, C.C., had to be spending some "quality time," as Ohgi liked to put it, together. That was until they found C.C. staring at the door with them during one of these "quality times."

From that point on, everyone had a different assumption as to the mystery behind Zero's alone time. Diethard insisted that Zero was simply using this time to plan things out away from the newbies' prying eyes. Ohgi thought he might be catching up on some much-needed sleep. Kallen and C.C. were both of the opinion that he was doing homework, fantasizing about Shirley, and trying to plan out his double life as effectively as possible. Tamaki maintained that there must be a girl in there; in fact he still though it might be C.C. despite her presence right next to him.

Right now, Zero had closed his door, put up a "not to be disturbed" sign and told everyone to keep out. However, that was before the very important phone call from one of their contacts. The Britannians were planning an attack on Penglai Island that very night, in just a matter of hours, and it was of utmost importance for the Black Knights to get there. Time was of the essence because rumor had it that the Knight of Seven was going to personally command this assault and they had to beat him there in order to get the high ground.

Kallen was the person appointed to the very dangerous task of interrupting Zero. She stared at the door blankly for a few minutes with the rest of the Black Knights encouraging her to "get moving and knock already." She finally lifted her hand and lightly tapped against the door. No response.

She turned back to look at everyone and shrugged her shoulders as if to say 'he's not answering me.' They glared at her so she summoned her bravery once again and knocked, albeit a lot harder this time. Still no response.

Getting more frustrated at being ignored than afraid of being punished she lifted the palm of her hand and banged on the door as hard as possible for a good two and a half minutes, hurting her hand in the process. Once again, no response.

"What the hell is he doing in there that he can't hear me?"

Kallen was red from anger now. No one had the right to ignore her, not even Zero. She grasped the door handle and turned. To her surprise it was unlocked and easily swung open. She stepped into the room followed by Ohgi, Tamaki, and C.C.; the others trailed behind, uncertain if entrance into Zero's private room was permitted. Zero was nowhere to be seen, but the bedroom door was mostly closed; he was probably in there catching up on his sleep just like Ohgi had thought.

She went over to the partially ajar door, pushed it open, and then immediately gasped sharply in surprise and slammed the door shut. Behind the door, the sound of an indignant yell followed by someone hitting the floor could be heard.

"What did you see?" Tamaki was intensely curious.

"Umm, it was nothing, nothing at all" Kallen stuttered while blocking the door to prevent anyone else for entering. They could hear frantic shuffling coming from the room behind her and a few of the Knights looked concerned for their leader, but Kallen dutifully continued to block their entrance.

The door behind her opened and Zero strutted out wearing the pants from his Zero suit and the trademark mask, both of which looked very hap-hazardously thrown on.

"No way, you do have a girl in there. I was so right. I know my best bud Zero like I know my own hand."

"There is no girl in there." He denied the accusation vehemently. Nobody believed him. If there wasn't a girl in there, he would have simply ignored Tamaki's ramblings as usual. Everyone looked at the floor or ceiling intensely, pretending that there was some interesting pattern or design that they had never noticed before, wanting to avoid making eye contact with anyone else at the moment.

Ohgi stepped in to break the awkward moment, "We didn't mean to bother you Zero, but there's going to be an attack shortly at Penglai Island. The Knight of Seven is going to be there as well, so we thought it might be a good idea to get ready as soon as possible."

"Yeah, sure. Everyone go get ready; we'll leave in ten minutes. In the meantime, I've got some, um, business type things to take care of."

* * *

Now let's see who can guess what Zero was doing in his room? Lol.  
Again, sorry for the shortness, but the next chapter should be up soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Code Geass is not mine and never will be.

A/N: Wow. 7 reviews in less than a day. I feel so loved. Thanks go to all of my wonderful reviewers: **Lady-Amaltea, AEDReaper, KarimaTinCan, HyperAnimeGirl. Arkaham, Poisioned-Inkwell, **and **NiftyNoodles**.

The next chapter should be up tomorrow, but it may take a while to update after that, seeing as there are two directions I want this story to go and I have to decide which one is best. Most likely I'll end up going with the less cliched idea, but that still means I have to write it.

Warnings: Suzalulu Yaoi. Yay!

Now, onward to the story

* * *

Zero, the hero of the masses, the leader of the rebellion, the faceless enemy of Britannian, stood before his Black Knights preparing to set the record straight about the awkward situation many of them had caught him in. His plan was to reiterate the house rules, specifically keep out during do-not-disturb times and wait for permission to enter a room. He had thought that these people, being adults, would have understood those concepts, but perhaps he was mistaken.

Well, the idea was to go over the rules of the Black Knights, but that only worked in theory. In reality, Tamaki started laughing the second Zero walked into the common room. Of course it was no help at all that his renowned black mask was askew and his shirt was not properly buttoned; the cape was missing entirely. Hesitantly a few of the newer members of the Black Knights began to chuckle.

C.C. started to giggle and point at him. This apparently started a chain reaction because Kallen hurriedly covered her mouth in an attempt to block her laughter. Ohgi too attempted to hide his amusement, but failed miserably. Even Toudou and Chiba couldn't resist joining in. And to make it even worse, Diethard was taping this.

This was the last straw. Nobody laughed at Lelouch vi Britannia and NOBODY EVER laughed at Zero. Lelouch took an intimidating step forward intending to shut everyone up and was more than surprised when it actually worked. The laughter began to die down and Zero could begin his speech.

Lelouch sighed gratefully. Now he could finally rebuke his Knights for disturbing him at such an inconvenient time.

* * *

Ohgi listened intently as Zero began to chew them all out.

"What on earth was going through your heads? I said do NOT disturb me. Did you think that was a suggestion, because it was an ORDER."

Zero was so overdramatic, Ohgi thought. He was always doing those crazy, overzealous arm movements. Ohgi couldn't help but wince every time one of Zero's gloved hands flew out. There were several very expensive, old antiques in the Headquarters. It had been a Britannia nobleman's home previously.

Shatter.

Oh no, that one had to be at least a hundred years old and worth more than all of them could earn in a year. It had also been one of Ohgi's favorite decorations. A large ornamental vase decorated with pictures of some mythical bird god. And now it was in pieces on the floor.

Ohgi looked around. Except for Diethard who seemed excited by this new turn of events and C.C. who looked exasperated, it seemed the rest of the Black Knights were now a bit frightened. Zero did seem very angry, but no one had expected him to break anything.

What scared Ohgi the most though was Zero's lack of reaction. He didn't stop speaking to pick up, or order someone to pick up, the shattered ceramic. He didn't change his tone of voice to convey any additional anger or any embarrassment. He didn't pause in his speech to stare at the destruction. He didn't even notice.

Either Zero was deaf and blind, which Ohgi knew was not the case, or he was just wrapped up in his own speech. Ohgi knew that to be the problem and was rather worried. Zero was completely defenseless in this state.

Hell, if the Knight of Seven himself showed up, Zero probably wouldn't even notice!

* * *

There was a faint squeaking sound coming from the bedroom, as if someone was opening a door. This was followed by a clicking sound. Someone was walking.

The Black Knights turned as one to stare at the door. All of them were wondering who this mystery girl was who had Zero so captivated.

The main door swung open and a person sauntered out. There were gasps of shock and fear as well as people rubbing their eyes thinking they were hallucinating. This simply could not be. It was impossible.

The Knight of Seven, Suzaku Kururugi was here. In Black Knight Headquarters. And dressed only in Zero's cape!

* * *

Zero was so entranced by his own speech that he did not even feel the familiar weight of Suzaku press down on his shoulders and the even more familiar feeling of soft, surprisingly gentle lips on his exposed neck.

Meanwhile, every single person in the room was staring in shock and outright horror at the scene playing out before them. Their enemy was in their HQ, barely dressed, and acting very close to their leader. It must be a trick. A few drew their weapons, ready to assist their leader if needed.

Zero, however, did not even seem to notice that something was amiss.

Instead, he just continued to lecture, "…and I don't care if the world is ending, I said I was busy…"

The entire Black Knight audience was getting rather nervous at Zero's lack of response. Why didn't he notice Suzaku? Couldn't he feel Suzaku touching him? What was the Knight of Seven doing in their headquarters, in Zero's room no less? Zero's clothing was wrinkled and sweaty, had he been tortured? Why was Suzaku in Zero's cape? Why wasn't Suzaku fully dressed? And most importantly, WHY on earth was Suzaku kissing Zero's neck?

* * *

That's all for now. Second chapter done. Let me know what you think.  
As I said at the top, the next chapter will be up tomorrow, but after that, there are no promises.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Not mine

Warnings: Yaoi and some nudity.

A/N: I meant to get this up yesterday, but I had to change some things because there were parts that just didn't really work and then fanfiction was working properly when I was trying to upload it. Anyway, it's up now and it's much better than before. This is my favorite chapter so far, so I hope you enjoy it.

I have no clue when the next chapter will be up, though it will most likely be within a week. If it's not though, just bear with me because I promise to update as soon as I can.

* * *

Tamaki could not help but feel numb with shock. A Britannian Knight was in the same room as he was and to make matters worse it was Suzaku Kururugi. Oh, that Kururgi kid just made him so mad. Didn't he already prove that he was better than Suzaku? Yeah, Tamaki remembered it clearly.

He was in Shinjuku ghetto and there were some Britannian school boys talking about Elevens and how they deserved to be killed. So he, being the great soldier that he was, jumped in and told them off. He had the situation handled, those damn Britannians were so scared they were about to run away and the legend of the mighty Tamaki would be started.

But then that Kururugi came waltzing in like he owned the place, and he most certainly did not own any part of Shinjuko. Tamaki very nicely asked the boy to leave, but instead, the traitor tried to pick a fight with him. So of course Tamaki had reluctantly beaten him up. Yeah, that was exactly what had occurred. And now here Kururugi was, again.

Shouldn't Suzaku be too frightened of him to get even within a five-hundred foot radius?

Well, that was just fine. Tamaki would just show him who was boss again. He had to after all. Suzaku was attacking Zero, _his_ Very Best Friend. And friends always came first, especially when that meant he could punch a traitor in front of all of his co-workers. Yeah, they would call him a hero.

"Get away from Zero" Tamaki charged forward with the intent of bringing Suzaku down a few pegs.

* * *

Every single person in the room had been considering the exact thing Tamaki was now attempting, so they turned their attention from the very odd scene in front of the room to the other very odd scene of Tamaki running at full speed.

Unfortunately for Tamaki, Suzaku was a highly trained soldier. Although his lips were still firmly attached to the base of Lelouch's throat, he could sense a person approaching at what might be deemed high speed for some, but to Suzaku seemed more like a brisk walk.

Without even looking up, Suzaku stuck his arm straight out in front of him and felt something hard collide with his clenched fist.

BANG!! Tamaki didn't even see it coming.

Zero paused in his speech. He seemed slightly surprised, as though he had just realized nobody had been listening to him. He glared, or what passed for a glare in the expressionless mask, at Tamaki for interrupting him and then preceded to find out why nobody had been listening. From the terrified, slack-jawed expressions on the faces of his organization members and the way they were frantically pointing, it appeared as though the source of this disturbance was located on his right shoulder. He hesitantly turned to look.

Oh, that was it. "I told you to stay in the room."

* * *

Suzaku just smiled innocently at him, reaching up to grasp the trademark mask, straightening it out from its previous crooked position. Zero too reached up to make sure the mask was really on properly, leaving his body open for Suzaku to attack. And attack Suzaku did.

He grabbed Zero's suit jacket, unbuttoned it, revealing some very tempting skin, and then sadly re-buttoned it, properly this time. As much as he wanted to continue the fun they had been having before the interruption, he knew Lelouch would not appreciate an audience. Suzaku understood that even though Lelouch was self-obsessed and egotistic, he was also incredibly shy when it came to personal matters.

* * *

C.C. was the only person not affected by this display of affection. She had always known what was going on in there; she had, in fact, walked in on these two once before. It's true, she didn't see them actually having sex, but they were lying in bed together, both their clothes and the blankets had been discarded on the floor. Lelouch had ordered her out, so she vowed revenge. And now seemed to be the ideal time.

One second to set her face into an innocent and horrified expression. Perfect.

"What were you two doing? And why isn't he wearing any clothes? Are you cheating on me?!"

* * *

Zero was frantically shaking his head at C.C., trying in vain to prevent her from asking anything before he could come up with a valid story. If she just shut up, he could pass this off as some sort of test or dream or something. Too late though; the question was asked and every single Black Knight was staring intently at Zero waiting for an answer.

"Master Zero," Kaguya began, "is this true? You're cheating on us?"

Lelouch was very unsure how to proceed here. He had never thought up a plan for escape for this particular situation.

Seeing the dilemma, Suzaku jumped in to rescue his prince, "we were just cuddling a bit. We lost track of the time though, I should have been out of here hours ago."

Was that supposed to be an answer? They were _cuddling_? By the sound of it, Suzaku came over often, but that couldn't be right. Security was top-notch. And Kallen in particular couldn't help but notice that the question of Suzaku's state of dress, or lack thereof, went completely unanswered.

"Can we just tie him up already and get to Penglai Island?" Ohgi asked, trying to grab onto familiar territory; battles he could handle, but he did not want to think about what Suzaku was doing in Zero's room. They were cuddling? And they had been naked from the look of things! Ohgi didn't even want to begin to consider which one of the two boys in front of him would top, much less which one would initiate a cuddling session.

* * *

"_Ring ring ring_"

The sound of a cell phone jerked Ohgi away from his increasingly perverted thoughts.

"Again?" Suzaku reached into his pocket pulling out the silver phone that was omitting the obnoxious ring tone and glanced at the caller ID. "Damn, why is it always him." Suzaku then turned back around and retreated to Zero's room for some privacy. "Yeah Gino, I know. I'll be there soon…"

This action left Zero alone to face his subordinates' questioning and upset stares. As soon as Suzaku was out of sight the Black Knights turned to their leader expectantly. "Well Zero, what'd ya say?" "We tie him up, right, Master Zero?" "What are your orders, sir?"

Lelouch delayed answering a bit, trying to decide who he would prefer to have mad at him. His resistance group, the Black Knights, who followed his orders and many times had saved his life or Suzaku who he loved more than anyone else in the world, besides Nunnally, although that was a different type of love. Both options seemed very unpleasant, not to mention dangerous.

Before he could figure out what to do, Suzaku rejoined them, emerging from the bedroom, now fully dressed in his white Knight of Rounds uniform. Zero's cape draped over one of his arms.

Suzaku approached Lelouch, unfolded the cape and gently wrapped it around his shoulders. Surprised by this gesture, Lelouch reached up to fasten his cloak, but need not have done so, as Suzaku had wrapped his arms around Lelouch as well, his fingers making quick work of the clasp. Their hands touched and Suzaku smiled, nuzzling his head against the back of his lover's left shoulder, pausing only to ask the question that brought Zero's mind crashing back to reality.

"So, can I get a ride to work?"

* * *

Hope you all liked it. Special thanks go to my reviewers.

**Neo Diji**: Yeah, I'm glad I finally posted, too. I know it seems crackish, but you've seen my stories. This is actually very serious compared to the rest of my ideas. Lol.  
And to answer your question, yes Suzaku is ONLY in the cape. In my mind, Suzaku should always go commando!

**StaysSweet**: Zero and his hand movements. I'm almost surprised Suzaku and Kallen didn't figure out who Zero was sooner, what with the similarities between Lelouch's and Zero's outrageous hand actions.

**Diana Prince, ****Vermillion Lies, Lilyoda, menteur honnete, SecondtoNon, asami-chan37, Lilyflower1987, Mio-tan, **and **Poisoned-Inkwell**. I live for your reviews; well not really, but they make my life so much happier.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4. Yay! I really never expected to write a story that was more than just a one-shot. I know this chapter took forever to get done and is not as humorous as the previous ones, but it's still good. I apologize that this took over a week to finish and the next chapter will take just as long, but thanks for sticking with me and reading.

Nothing really new happens in this chapter at all. It's just filler where everyone talks to each other. Next chap should be more interesting.

Disclaimer: not mine, blah, blah, blah. You all get it.

A/N: This chapter was really difficult for me. Probably because so much of it is actual meant to be taken seriously, not as comedy. Although there are a few jokes in here. I wanted some sort of very political reason for Suzaku and Lelouch to be together, but couldn't come up with anything besides Zero being concerned over his image with the masses.

This chapter is dedicated to all of you reading my story, especially **MizuiroSnow, AEDReaper, Lilyoda, Diana Prince, Emo Headphonez, Lilyflower1987,**

**Poisoned-Inkwell**: That's the only reason I keep Tamaki around too. Lol.

**Neo Diji**: You know what? I actually am starting to really like Kaguya. I know, weird. She is even in a section of this chapter.  
No way is Nina ever going to be in a fic of mine. Unless of course she dies. Maybe a fic where someone tortures her to death? No! I refuse to waste my time on her. I really hate her for some reason.  
Oh, Suzaku going commando. I mentioned that to my sister and she thinks I'm so weird now. Lol.

**menteur honnete**: Chapter 3 was definitely my favorite, too.  
As for this being an AU, it's not supposed to be. It's based during season 2 when Suzaku is back in Japan and knows who Lelouch is. They are enemies, but still meet up for sex/cuddling. But, if you'd prefer for it to be AU, feel free to think of it as such. Whatever makes it best for you.

**Suffocated Entity**: Your review is really the one that got me inspired enough to finish this chapter. The entire bit about Kaguya is dedicated to you.

Enough time wasted, now READ MY STORY. I Command You!

* * *

Lelouch had been in many bad situations before. He had almost been killed in Shinjuko ghetto; he had been forced to kill his half-sister; he had been captured, betrayed, and turned over to his father; he had killed and almost been killed numerous times.

Despite all of that, Lelouch couldn't remember a time he felt more trapped. Who should he side with?

The Black Knights were loyal to him. They did everything he asked them to. His elite fighting team. They trusted him to capture Suzaku. By keeping Suzaku captive, who knows how many of his soldiers would be saved on the battlefield.

Or Suzaku. His idiot of a boyfriend who he absolutely adored even though they were on opposite sides of this war. He knew Suzaku had betrayed him to the emperor, so he should not feel badly about betraying him to them Black Knights, but he had already forgiven the Knight of Seven. Lelouch knew Suzaku had not been in his right mind at the time of the betrayal.

And both were expecting him to take their side.

Maybe a compromise would work.

* * *

"Alright everyone listen. We will not be keeping the Knight of Seven here at our HQ." Exclamations and protests immediately rose from the Black Knights.

"Wait. Let me finish." Zero began again. "We can't keep him here. Taking him captive while not in battle would make the masses sympathetic toward the Britannians. That's the last thing we need right now. We must show the people of Japan that we, the Black Knights, are nothing like the Britannians we hate."

_Well_, thought Lelouch, _I guess I just sided with Suzaku. Damn, it sounded more like a compromise before I said it._

* * *

"Zero, wouldn't it make more sense to kill him and then make it look like the Britannian military is to blame? Make it look like some soldier got angry an Eleven could work his way up to a Knight of Rounds?"

This was Diethard's idea, of course. Diethard had always thought killing Suzaku was the best thing to do to convince the masses that Zero was a hero and Suzaku was not important. It still irked him that many of the Japanese people still viewed Suzaku as a hero and looked to emulate him.

* * *

"No! Absolutely not!" Kaguya was aghast at the suggestion to kill her cousin, even though it did seem that her 'husband' had been sleeping with him.

Thinking it through, she sadly realized that the signs were always there that Zero did not love her. Nor did he seem interested in Kallen or, regardless of the fact that they shared a room, C.C. The only explanation was that he was homosexual or that he already had a true love.

The answer appeared to be both. Zero could have easily slept with any male Black Knight member that he wanted. Everyone knew Tamaki would jump into bed with the masked hero. And that new Black Knight, the Rolo kid, seemed to harbor a crush on their leader as well. And if Zero felt uncomfortable with sleeping with one of his subordinates, he could always just keep Suzaku prisoner.

This was more than just sex. It was love.

Kaguya could see that and she honestly could not think of a better person to steal Zero from her than Suzaku. It was true that Suzaku was on the wrong side, but Kaguya knew her cousin better than most people. Suzaku would never fully betray his country; he was just trying to save Japan from Britannia in the wrong way.

Zero needed that; a person who would not just robotically follow his every order, like everyone tended to do. Zero liked to live dangerously; he needed someone who would fight him at every opportunity, but in the end would always be there to rescue him. From the look in her cousin's eyes, Kaguya could tell that Suzaku was madly in love with the man he was sleeping with.

Kaguya would do anything for Zero. That included letting him be with the one he loved.

"We cannot hurt him."

Kaguya wasn't even sure whether she was referring to Suzaku or Zero. She didn't want either of them to be hurt.

* * *

"She's right," Kallen said. "If we kill a Britannian soldier simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, then we become no better than them. We can't do that. We just can't." Kallen always had been idealistic and would never harm anyone unless she had to, such as in battle situations. To her, the idea of murder or imprisonment without a trial was unjust, exactly the type of thing she was fighting against.

However, despite Kallen being of good moral fiber, many of the Black Knights had only joined up with Zero in order to kill Britannians and extract revenge, thus almost all of the newer Black Knight recruits objected to Kallen and Kaguya's arguments.

"Wrong place at the wrong time?" One of the nameless fighters spoke what everyone was thinking, "Kallen, he was in our HQ, in Zero's bed; he's not supposed to be here. And he's here right before we're supposed to go into battle _against him_. This is the best place and time to get him."

Kallen had to admit, the reasoning was sound. It was right before they went to battle. How many lives could be saved by preventing the Knight of Seven from engaging in combat?

* * *

Fortunately for Suzaku, as things were looking bad from his side, Zero himself entered the debate. "We need to make it clear to the masses we are the protectors of justice, that we protect those who need protection. Not that we are terrorists who will hurt anyone who does not agree with us. You see, it is all about the way things appear. Then the outcome of any particular battle does not matter, because we will win in the end."

"I understand," said Ohgi. "We have to make everyone side with us. Not just the Japanese, but the civilians of Britannia as well. Many people think of Kururugi as a hero. If we show them that we could have killed Kururugi, but didn't; then they will respect us."

Many of the people gathered in the room nodded thoughtfully. This logic made sense.

That harmonious silence lasted all of two seconds before another nameless Black Knight yelled, "That's all well and good Zero, but he just asked for a ride to work! Where do you freaking think he works, Pizza Hut?!?!?"

Then pandemonium broke out.

* * *

To be continued...


End file.
